MOISEI NAPPELBAUM.
PORTRAIT OF THE EPOCH
Where: National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus
When: 13/09/2019 – 23/10/2019
When: 13/09/2019 – 23/10/2019
[ about the project ]
Moisei Nappelbaum is one of the most significant names in the history of photography. The greatness of his talent is underscored by one simple fact: when the Blosheviks needed to present the image of the head of Soviet Russia to the world in 1918, it was Nappelbaum who was chosen to shoot the very first artistic portrait of Lenin.
Nappelbaum entered the annals of world photography as a master of the artistic and psychological portrait, becoming the photographer of the Soviet cultural and political elite. He is considered the godfather of the photographic portrait, having created his own unique style. More than a thousand of his photographs, including portraits of Akhmatova, Blok, Gorky, Dzerzhynski, Esenin, Plekhanov, Wells, Pasternak, Meyerhold, Lenin, Sverdlov, Budyonny, and others, have entered the golden pool of art.
Nappelbaum entered the annals of world photography as a master of the artistic and psychological portrait, becoming the photographer of the Soviet cultural and political elite. He is considered the godfather of the photographic portrait, having created his own unique style. More than a thousand of his photographs, including portraits of Akhmatova, Blok, Gorky, Dzerzhynski, Esenin, Plekhanov, Wells, Pasternak, Meyerhold, Lenin, Sverdlov, Budyonny, and others, have entered the golden pool of art.
EXHIBITION
Nappelbaum was born in Minsk, where he opened his first portrait studio. In his quest for knowledge and experience, he traveled extensively: Smolensk, Moscow, Odessa, Vilno, Warsaw, New York, Pittsburg and other cities of the USA. His photo studio in Petrograd became a true artistic hub, attracting luminaries such as Akhmatova, Mandelshtam, Blok, and Gumilev. In 1935, Nappelbaum was awarded the title of the Honored Artist of the Republic, a unique case in the history of Soviet photography.
A grand event dedicated to the master's 150th anniversary started in Minsk. For the first time in Belarus, originals of Nappelbaum's famous portraits were shown. The exhibition showcased personal documents and early works from the Minsk period from the collections of the National Historical Museum and the National Historical Archive of the Republic of Belarus, as well as Moisei Nappelbaum's personal camera.
This project is not only a hommage and reflection of a great master's art but also a mirror of the epoch, demonstrating the portraits of the creative minds in the fields of art, science and culture, and those who shaped the destinies of their time. It tells the story of who these people were, of their contributions to culture and science, and how their lives ultimately unfolded. The concept of the exhibition also echoes Nappelbaum's who belief that "a good portrait is a tantamount to an entire epoch".
«I am highly pleased that this anniversary is being celebrated in my Grandfather's Homeland, in Minsk, exactly where he started his life in art, where he gained experience, experimented in search of his own creative path… I hope that this Minsk Anniversary Exhibition of Moisei Nappelbaum will contribute a lot to World culture».
Ekaterina Tsarenkova, granddaughter of Moisei Nappelbaum (Hamburg)
Project curator: Maya Katznelson
Curators from the National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus: Ekaterina Alexeeva, Nadezhda Savchenko
Exhibition design: Katerina Khrolovich
Poster design: Vladimir Gorz
Curators from the National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus: Ekaterina Alexeeva, Nadezhda Savchenko
Exhibition design: Katerina Khrolovich
Poster design: Vladimir Gorz
Belarusian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Center
Borodulin Collection
National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus
Borodulin Collection
National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus
PROJECT ORGANIZERS
National Historical Archive of the Republic of Belarus
Union of Belarusian-Jewish Public Associations and Communities
RUSS PRESS PHOTO (Moscow)
Month of Photography in Minsk
IPR Belarus
Svet Goroda Advertising Agency
Minsk City Info
ALC Dalicia
Zalkind House Hotel
The photographs were kindly provided by the Borodulin Collection, one of the world's largest collections of classic Soviet photography.
Union of Belarusian-Jewish Public Associations and Communities
RUSS PRESS PHOTO (Moscow)
Month of Photography in Minsk
IPR Belarus
Svet Goroda Advertising Agency
Minsk City Info
ALC Dalicia
Zalkind House Hotel
The photographs were kindly provided by the Borodulin Collection, one of the world's largest collections of classic Soviet photography.
PROJECT PARTNERS
MOISEI NAPPELBAUM.
PORTRAIT OF THE EPOCH
PORTRAIT OF THE EPOCH
Where: KGallery, Saint Petersburg
When: 14/11/2019 – 12/01/2020
When: 14/11/2019 – 12/01/2020
On November 14, the exhibition opened in Saint Petersburg under the aegis of the Culture Committee as part of the VII Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum. The event became the first large-scale personal exhibition of Nappelbaum in Saint Petersburg since 1918.
The grand opening was attended by the photo master's grandson, Eric Nappelbaum.
The event entered the top-15 of the best exhibitions in Saint Petersburg by Sobaka.ru.
The grand opening was attended by the photo master's grandson, Eric Nappelbaum.
The event entered the top-15 of the best exhibitions in Saint Petersburg by Sobaka.ru.
Project curators: Maya Katznelson, Katerina Khrolovich
Co-curators: KGallery team
Co-curators: KGallery team
Belarusian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Center
Borodulin Collection
KGallery
National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus
Borodulin Collection
KGallery
National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus
PROJECT ORGANIZERS
Alpha Insurance
Belavia Airlines
IPR Belarus
Indigo Hotel
Belavia Airlines
IPR Belarus
Indigo Hotel
PROJECT PARTNERS
[ to read ]
INTERESTING
«There were no portraits of Lenin at that time. I was the first one to ever shoot his image for history».
«Now some of these photographs are the only images left of the people destroyed during the Great Purge».
«On this day Moisei Solomonovich made of the last antemortem photos of Esenin».
[ thanks for the support ]
MASS MEDIA
«In front of the camera, Esenin refused to take off his fur coat and sit in an arm-chair, like Nappelbaum's other customers would normally do. The photographer was by no means confused by that, on the contrary, he seemed to be very glad at such a turn of things. He couldn't stand the hooligan-poet's "cherub's loveliness" and "childlike clarity of the gaze" that his colleagues were trying so hard to capture».
Союзное Вече
read
read
«The exhibition in Minsk is the first really large project dedicated to the great master of photography. It is symbolic that the organizers decided to start this journey through cities and countries from Moisei Nappelbaum's homeland».
SB Belarus Today
read
read
«I have given 75 years of my life to the art of photography. 75 years of success and failure, hopes and disappointments. I was never fascinated by landscape photography, nor was I carried away by daily chronicle images. What I have always been truly allured by is the magic of the human face».
«At the lecture dedicated to the master, the Hermitage chief photographer, Yuri Molodkovets, drew parallels between the famous side-on portrait of Anna Akhmatova shot by Nappelbaum and the Gonzaga cameo».
Rg.ru
read
read
Saint Petersburg Vedomosti
read
read
[ to watch ]
VIDEO
TV-channel Saint Petersburg
«History in faces is an illustrative form of conversation with the audience. This compiles not only the "Portrait of the Epoch", as the exhibition title claims, but also its nerve, its emotion that one cannot help but read. "One's past, their thoughts, views, attitude towards others - all of that leaves traces on a human face. And all of that the able one shall read". Here's the formula drawn by Moisei Nappelbaum. It is also a call for action, a call for anyone who would be eager to read the "Portrait of the Epoch».
Watch
«History in faces is an illustrative form of conversation with the audience. This compiles not only the "Portrait of the Epoch", as the exhibition title claims, but also its nerve, its emotion that one cannot help but read. "One's past, their thoughts, views, attitude towards others - all of that leaves traces on a human face. And all of that the able one shall read". Here's the formula drawn by Moisei Nappelbaum. It is also a call for action, a call for anyone who would be eager to read the "Portrait of the Epoch».
Watch
TV-channel Russia-Culture
«The exhibition "Moisei Nappelbaum. Portrait of the Epoch" opens on Fontanka embankment».
Watch
«The exhibition "Moisei Nappelbaum. Portrait of the Epoch" opens on Fontanka embankment».
Watch